Stolen Desire (The Lust List: Kaidan Stone #3) (12 page)

But the thought of the betrayal he'll feel hurts me far worse than the idea of jail.

I can't do it.

I'm taking it back upstairs. I'll wait until the maids leave, and I'll sneak into the master bedroom again and put it back. Then I'll go to Kaidan, and I'll tell him everything.

And with that decision, a huge weight lifts off my chest.

I know I've made the right choice.

I turn back to the stairs, and all my hope for fixing this dissipates.

“Hayley?”

Kaidan's fully dressed at the top of the stairs, his cell phone in his hand. And he's
angry
.

He knows. He knows I stole it.

He comes down the stairs, and as he gets closer, I see his expression fade to something more like anguish, or regret.

I just stare at him wide-eyed, my hand gripping the banister tightly, just waiting for him to demand I return the diamond.

A knock sounds at the door. Then the doorbell rings.

The anguish on Kaidan's face deepens. Something is very, very wrong. What did he
do
?

Charles appears in the foyer from the main hallway. He nods at Kaidan, his face a mask, no emotions showing, and doesn't even look at me.

My eyes are riveted to the door as Charles opens it and steps aside.

There are cops at the door.

And they're here for
me
.

Dots dance across my vision, and I realize I'm not breathing.

Kaidan reaches the foyer and rests a hand on my shoulder. I stiffen and look up at him.

“I didn't want it to go down like this,” he says, his voice rough. “You shouldn't be here.”

“Kaidan, please, I—”

“Shh.” He squeezes my shoulder.

The cops step through the door, staring at us, and then I see their coats. FBI. They're FBI.

Confusion mingles with my fear. The FBI?

The first officer holds up his badge and looks straight at Kaidan. “Kaidan Stone. You're under arrest for embezzlement, money laundering, and extortion.”

Shock races through me as Kaidan gives my shoulder a final squeeze and steps toward them with his hands raised, palms out.

My mouth hangs open as the FBI agents cuff Kaidan. My brain struggles to make sense of all of this as they lead him outside to their unmarked car.

I try to follow, but Charles steps in front of me.

“What happened?” My voice cracks. “Why did they just arrest him? Money laundering… embezzlement…?”

Charles looks at me with sympathy. “When Mr. Stone has the chance, I'm certain he'll explain everything.”

I look around Charles at the car as it pulls away, Kaidan cuffed in the back seat.

“I need to go. Where's my car?”

Charles won't move. He furrows his brow, clearly worried. “No talking to the tabloids about this, Ms. Wade.”

I meet his eyes, my emotions chaotically swirling within me. I feel like I'm going to lose it any second. “I won't
tell
anyone.”

He hesitates, assessing me to decide whether or not to let me go. Then he steps out of my way. “Your car is parked to the side of the house.”

I fly out the door without a word. I hurry across the brick drive, past the quietly gurgling fountain, to find my Mercedes.

It looks brand new. Not a scratch on it. My hand is shaking so hard, it takes me two tries to hit the right button on my remote to unlock the door.

I slide into the driver's seat and slam the door shut. I'm gripping the steering wheel, hard, trying not to lose it. But darkness is closing in, and it feels like a huge boulder is crushing my chest.

I panic for a few minutes, but then I get my breath under control and wipe the tears out of my eyes.

I have the diamond.

The drug dealers have my brother.

I don't know what the fuck just happened with Kaidan, but I have to forget about it for now. There's only one thing I can control.

I need to get this diamond to my lawyer and get my money back before…

Before they kill Rowan.

***

Can KaiHay survive this? Read the rest of Hayley and Kaidan's story in the final book: 
Scandal Exposed
.

Live. Love. Lust.

Nova